Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter friends! He is Risen! As I mentioned in one of my previous entries, Easter is my fav day out of the entire year. Now, Easter looks a little different this year than it has in previous years, but that’s okay. I got to see Emmett & Grace for the first time in two weeks, so that was super awesome! Chris picked them up this morning and then all 4 of them headed here to spend some time with me. This was the first time the big kids have seen me in this hospital setting, so I was a little worried about how they would take that, but they overall seemed to be pretty receptive of it and not too worried, which is good. One niceting about my current admittance is that I can still wear regular clothes, so I’m not forced to wear a hospital gown. I think that helped them have a small sense of normalcy, and hopefully not worry too much. Now I do have two IVs in my left arm, so they did show some concern about that, but thankfully I’m not hooked up to an IV pole 24/7 so I have pretty free reign, for the most part.

So let’s talk about the visit a little bit. They arrived around 10:30 this morning, which was perfect because I had just finished breakfast. I told them the Easter Bunny made a special trip to the hospital just for them, and left them each a gift bag, (the ones that the librarian had put together). They all really enjoyed the items they got in there. They both got a little notebook with some fancy markers/pens to draw with, and Emmett, who’s not usually much of an artist, drew me a picture and gave it to me to hang up here, which was very sweet. Grace said she’s also going to work on drawings throughout the week for me, and bring them back next weekend so I can decorate my room with them. I also thought that was very sweet of her. On Friday when Chris & Ezra came to visit, Chris had brought me a notepad, a pen, an envelope, and some stamps so I can write my letter to LMM. (I still need to do that.) But Grace asked if that’s so I can write letters to them, which I honestly hadn’t thought of! I bet they would really enjoy getting some mail from me, so I think I’ll work on that this week, assuming I can find some envelopes around here because Chris only brought me the one. Idk about you, but getting mail as a kid was always a super exciting event. In Emmett’s bag, he got this foam airplane, which was actually a pretty decent quality, so they had fun flying that back and forth in the room. Grace was also pretty excited that she had gotten Play Doh and a little bunny plushie. She named it Cottontail. Turns out the ice cream shop is always closed on the weekend, so we weren’t able to take them there like we had planned, so that was a bummer. HOWEVER, my nurse, Katie, came through! They have ice cream up here on the floor that I can ask for at any time, so she was kind enough to bring some for all of us, and even found some allergen free Italian Ice for Ezra to have! Everyone really enjoyed that. I discovered her kids are about the same age as Emmett & Grace, so that’s pretty neat. This is the third time I’ve had Katie as my nurse and I really like her. She’s very easy to get along and talk with, and is super kind. Granted everyone here has been super kind, but I like her a lot. Anway, back to the visit. After we had the kids find their Easter “baskets”, we went downstairs to see if the game thing they have set up on the Children’s hospital side was working, but sadly, it’s currently being repaired. However, there’s a little enclosed area outside where there’s a few playground-esque music equipment for them to play with, so we went out there for a bit and they enjoyed that. Emmett was bummed that the gift shop was closed. Lol. They actually normally are open on the weekend, but they were closed for the holiday today. After they were done playing outside, we came in and went to the cafeteria and grabbed some lunch. Emmett got a turkey sub, Grace got an Uncrustable, and Chris got a burger with some fries, but Ezra ate most of his fries. Lol. (At least he got something from me! lol). The only thing I wanted was this chocolate mint pie, and it was delicious! Both Emmett & Grace got a pack of gummies too that they shared with everyone. Grace had brought her bag of Easter stuff downstairs with her and she made a Play Doh monster. It was pretty neat. After lunch, we came up here and had the ice cream and the kids did their drawings and played with the airplane. Ezra walking was new, since Emmett & Grace had last seen him, so they both had a lot of fun holding his hands and helping him walk around. I know Ezra really enjoyed it too. He absolutely LOVES his big brother and sister, so I”m sure he missed them while they were at Eric’s. I reminded Emmett & Grace that they need to be on their best behavior and be good helpers for Chris, since I’m not able to be there. They were each given a list of responsibilities for the week. Emmett & Grace hadn’t been to our house yet, and were eager to go on their Easter egg hunt and find their baskets. So things wouldn’t be too rushed when they got home, they aimed to leave around 3:00. Of course when the time came, I put on a brave face and told them to be good, and Facetime me when they got home so I could watch them look for their eggs and baskets. Grace seemed more sad than Emmett, but she is definitely our more emotional one. There were no tears shed by anyone though, so I am proud of that! It definitely sucks only being able to see your husband and kids for a few hours out of the week, but I’m at least thankful for Facetime! It’s of course not the same as being able to hold them and physically be with them, but it’s still better than only being able to write letters, or even just a regular phone call. I don’t imagine that the goodbyes every week will ever get any easier, but I have to remember, this is only a few weeks, in the grand scheme of things. Just as I was finishing up writing this, Chris Facetimed me so I could watch the kids search for their Easter eggs and baskets. It sounds like the Easter bunny forgot where he did a few of the eggs, so there’s still a couple rouge ones on the loose. Lol. (Pro tip, take pics of where you hide all the eggs because you’ll think you’ll remember, but you definitely won’t. lol) Overall it looks like they had a good time searching, and even Ezra got the hang of it. Grace was apparently a little upset she didn’t have any chocolate in her basket other than the Oreo egg (kinda like a Cadbury one), but if you know us, you know there’s always chocolate in our house so they really didn’t need a ton in their baskets. And I searched high and low for a dang allergen free bunny that Ezra can have, so he got one. lol. On another note, today marks week 31 of this pregnancy! So that means we only have a little over 3 more to go before we get to meet our little bundle (hopefully!)  I’m overall still pretty terrified for the surgery itself, but I know God will be with the surgeons, doctors, nurses, anesthesiologist, and any and all other medical staff taking care of me and baby that day, as well being with my family of course. We’ll get through it, just like we’ve gotten through everything else so far.

Since it’s Easter Sunday, I think I’ll stop here. While not the Easter I had hoped for or imagined, I’m still grateful I got to spend several hours of the day with my family and celebrate with them a little bit. Give your families hugs today. You never appreciate it as much as you should until you can’t do it whenever you want to. I hope you all had a great day, and remember that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave 3 days later, for YOU, so you may enter His eternal Kingdom. All you have to do is accept him. If you ever want to chat privately about Christ or have questions, my inbox is ALWAYS open! I will never judge you, nor will I shove my beliefs down your throat. You say the word, and I’ll shut up. However, I will never stop loving my Jesus and proclaiming His love for me, and try to be a beacon of His light. Stay blessed my friends, and as always, remember, Jesus loves you!